Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
“I still don’t feel well,” Tildy said quietly. “I’m going to lay down.”
Deirdre nodded, Tildy all but forgotten as she led Abby downstairs, schmoozing her all the way.
Tildy sighed in relief. She brushed her teeth to hide the smell of alcohol, changed into more comfortable clothes, and crawled into bed. For reassurance, she pinched the medal tucked into the pillowcase and closed her eyes.
Chapter 12
Hawk could say that he was relieved Tildy left without incident. It wasn’t worth it to get mixed up with a girl like that. He didn’t do drama, period. As he happened to glance over his shoulder, past the brunette on his arm, he realized that drama was about to be forced upon him- regardless of his opinion.
His eyes narrowed as he saw Raina, his slightly older sister and her two kids bouncing along in front of her, Kyle, 10, and Seth, 7. Raina wasn’t the problem, nor were the kids. Even though Raina was older, Hawk had always felt responsible for her. Raina may have been the older sibling, but she was a bit more naive than Hawk- at least in matters of the heart- or she had been.
Raina had been working at a store on the edge of the Rez when she met a white man with flashing teeth and a million dollar smile. It was actually worth quite a bit less than that, Hawk would venture to guess, but still more than Raina had ever had in her life. It wasn’t that his sister was a gold digger- or silver digger in this case- but when your whole life had been hardscrabble, and a man in Tony Llamas and a solid silver belt buckle tells you that you’re the prettiest thing he’s ever seen, well, Hawk couldn’t blame her momentary lapse of judgment.
Later, Raina would claim that she saw an easy life behind that easy smile, and it made her wonder what, exactly, an easy life would be like. She had taken care of their mother when she’d fallen ill while Hawk had been in Afghanistan. It had been a losing battle, and it had, without a doubt, taken its toll on her. Hawk couldn’t blame Raina for wanting to settle into a marriage and fill her empty heart with kids.
He just wished she hadn’t chosen a silver miner, especially one that didn’t actually live, officially, in South Dakota. Or even less desirable, one who balked at the idea of relocating here so that his wife could stay close to her only remaining family and the land she grew up on, the land of her people.
Jackson Kendall fancied himself a panhandler from the days when Wild Bill roamed the streets of Deadwood. The mining in the Dakotas might be good, but the life sure wasn’t what Kendall, a Northern Californian, had been expecting. When his claim didn’t prove half of what he’d been hoping for, he pulled up stakes, fully expecting Raina to pack up and move with him. When she refused, Kendall left anyway. He took his boots, his buckle, and his silver with him.
Raina had not seen one dime of child support in the years they’d been divorced. She couldn’t afford a lawyer, and Kendall knew that. It wasn’t so much, Hawk supposed, that Kendall was a deadbeat dad; he was just a man used to getting his way. Hawk figured the lack of support was Kendall’s way of starving Raina out. Eventually she’d see that she couldn’t make it without the father of her children, and she’d tuck her tail between her legs and hang her head all the way to California.
But Raina didn’t want to leave, so Hawk gave her money out of his own paycheck. Between the Army and working at the garage, they did all right. Hawk didn’t mind; he didn’t want to see his only remaining close family connection move so far away. He was frowning now though, as Raina rounded the house and guided her kids toward the backyard. Trailing behind her was another family connection, and this one was no longer close.
Garrett Standing Bear had a hand on Raina’s shoulder. They were cousins. As close as Garrett’s mother and Hawk’s own mother had been, as sisters so often were, so too had been Garrett and Hawk. They were less like cousins and more like brothers when they were growing up, until they got arrested. That time Garrett went to jail, and Hawk joined the Army. But Garrett kept going to jail- until jail turned to prison- and he’d only recently been released after his second stint.
Hawk knew Garrett had been released, but he had only seen him once, on the day after his Aunt and Uncle picked him up and brought him home. Garrett’s homecoming had been awkward. Hawk, however, was remaining cautiously optimistic; Raina was optimistic too, minus the caution. She must have mentioned the BBQ today. It wasn’t so much that Hawk didn’t want Garrett to be a part of his life, now that he was on parole; it was just that Hawk would rather Garrett ease in slower.